NYC Public Schools (NYCPS) released its 2026 New York state assessment results on Friday, showing a 6 percentage-point decline in citywide English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency among students in grades 3 through 8, while math proficiency increased by 0.1%.

Parents were expected to receive individual student test scores on Monday.

Only about 50% of students scored at the state’s top Levels 3 or 4 in ELA this year, down from just over 56% in 2025. The decline follows a 7.2 percentage-point increase between 2024 and 2025.

Kids in grades three and five experienced the largest ELA declines. Third-grade proficiency dropped from 58% in 2025 to an alarming 44.2% this year. Fifth grade fell 13.1 points, from 59.7% to 46.6%. Fourth-grade proficiency declined 5.7 points to 51.1%.

Decreases were not as dramatic in grades six through eight. Proficiency fell 1.9 points in sixth grade, 2 points in seventh, and .4 among eighth graders.

NYCPS officials called the year-to-year fluctuations “unprecedented” and said they have concerns over major scoring gains and losses over a short period of time. 

Emily Oster, a professor of economics at Brown University, said in a Chalkbeat article that, “data doesn’t usually look like that,” referring to the ELA scores.

“Those are pretty big year-on-year swings,” the professor, who studies statistical methods, said. 

Still, another reason the ELA results are concerning is that education experts say strong reading skills in elementary school can have positive effects that extend beyond the classroom.

A July report from Oxford University Press found that reading encourages empathy and self-reflection in most children. It also found that emotional understanding spans different genres.

“Children can still learn about emotions faced in difficult situations—such as conflict with friends, bullying, and grief—through more light-hearted books,” researchers reported. 

According to the study, which surveyed more than 3,000 children aged 7 to 14 and 200 teachers across the United Kingdom, educators noticed several standout book topics that children love the most, including funny stories, adventures and fantasy. 

Math results show little improvement in NYS exams

Despite the significant decreases in ELA scores, math results showed slight improvement this year. Citywide proficiency increased from 56.9% in 2025 to 57% in 2026. Fourth-grade math had the largest gain, increasing 1.6 points to 61.9%, followed by seventh grade, which increased 1.8 points to just over 60%. 

However, math results did not increase across the board. Third-grade proficiency fell 2.5 points to 61.2%; eighth grade fell 1.6 points to 47.6%.

City officials respond 

City officials said the dramatic fluctuations in the state assessment results have prompted the school system to conduct a deeper analysis. 

“Across the nation, we’ve seen transformative literacy rates using the pedagogy we know works, and we will continue to pursue that same approach,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said. “As we review these initial statewide results, and what they mean for our students, we will focus on better understanding the scoring process to use this data with confidence and make the best decisions for our students.”

Echoing Mamdani’s sentiments, Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said the state test results “raise important questions” and warrant further analysis to determine how accurately the assessments reflect student learning. 

“These results raise important questions and deserve careful, rigorous analysis so we can ensure we’re measuring what students are learning,” he said.

The city also said other school districts in New York saw score declines, too. 

In the meantime, Mamdani said NYC Reads, launched by former schools chancellor David Banks under former mayor Eric Adams in 2023, was a “turning point” for reading instruction in public schools.

“Reading opens doors—and worlds—for children,” he said. “For far too long, our school system has fallen short of its responsibility to help young New Yorkers become confident readers. NYC Reads marked a turning point in our commitment to ensuring every child gets the evidence-based instruction they deserve.” 

At the time of its launch, Banks described NYC Reads as a new approach to teaching children how to read that focuses on phonics and methods he said were backed by researchers. Since then, school leaders have looked at state test scores, reading assessments, classroom performance and feedback from teachers and parents to see how well the program is working and where reading instruction can improve. 

In-classroom analysis looks better

Despite the unremarkable state test results, screener data looks better. Screening refers to short reading assessments that teachers use to see how well students are developing their reading skills.

“For the 2025-26 school year, literacy screener data continues to show encouraging progress, including year-over-year gains across every student demographic,” a NYCPS press release stated. “While achievement gaps remain and more work is needed to ensure every child becomes a confident reader, the data also shows those gaps narrowing, with particularly strong gains for Black and Latino students in reading and math, especially in grade 8.”

Math screener results also increased, NYCPS said.

Samuels underscored the importance of screening data in the education process.

“Our goal remains universal literacy, and we are staying the course with NYC Reads and the science of reading,” he said. “Our educators also rely on nationally normed screeners to understand students progress, tailor instruction and provide additional support where it’s needed.”